| Buy or Sell – Which one first?

There is no one ‘right way’ to move home. There are advantages and disadvantages to each way you look at doing it.  Real ‘chicken or egg’ stuff – You need to carefully consider your unique set of circumstances. 

Your choice of real estate agent and conveyancer will have a direct impact on how successful your move is.  Do You:

• Buy first (if you have the means)  and hope for a successful sale of your existing home?
• Sell first – make yourself homeless and rent?
• Make an offer, with contingencies and hope the vendor doesn’t get a better offer while waiting for you to sell?

Should You buy before selling?
If you have the financial means to fund the purchase of your new home without needing to sell your old home you are in a fortunate position.

• This is the least stressful way to buy & sell.
• You can take your time in both buying and selling to ensure you are buying well and selling well
• Ensure you are up to date on taxation rules of owning a second house that is not your principal place of residence.

Should You sell before buying?
This is what most real estate agents encourage.  Although there is no right or wrong, just advantages & disadvantages and what works best for you.

• Selling first puts you in a strong buying and negotiating position 
• The seller will look at you more favourably.
• You can have 100% confidence in your purchasing budget
• You may need to move into rented accommodation while shopping for a new home which can be expensive and unsettling 
• If you wait too long, prices may rise and you can find yourself priced out of that market.

Making an offer on a house before selling yours
This can be a risky move, and can be very stressful and often ends in tears.  You will also find that (especially in a sellers market) vendors will not even want to look at your offer if it is contingent on selling your existing home first.

As you can see, there is no right or wrong – just what works best for your circumstances.